I posted this in the Haltech forum hoping for some input but I think my question was a bit too general. I hope you don't mind the cross-posting here.

I'm looking for some suggestions on a E6K which I picked up used from forum member. I have a 85 GSL-SE with a new rebuild (lightly ported) 13B and although the stock ECU seems to be working (motor starts and runs well) – I can’t seem to get the car to idle consistently under 1K. The motor has new plugs, new wires, new distributor cap & rotors, new vacuum hoses and has about 4 hours of break-in time (at idle). I've also adjusted the timing and TPS as per factory specs. This is my first ported motor so maybe I’m expecting too much.

I picked up the E6K hoping that I can obtain a reliable idle and consistent drivability. I’m not looking for gobs of power on a dyno or a track car. I’m hoping that someone can comment on my assumption that the Haltech is going to help with this. Although the E6K can do spark and fuel…my thought was to do fuel only. Any comments or suggestions? Thanks.

 

The stock ECU and injectors will support a street ported engine with no problem. Don't bother with the E6K unless you are planning to turbocharge the engine.

Either way, it sounds like you have some other kind of problem.
I would look into a vacuum leak. Spray some "starter fluid" in the engine compartment
while the engine running, and see of the idle changes. If it does - then you've confirmed it.
first.

 

i agree its probably a vacuum leak problem. have you tried the mixture screw yet? if its maxed out in either direction, there is something wrong

the haltech will work, NA, since the haltech and the gsl-se are both batch injection, there won't be much difference except that the haltech is more adjustable.

 

Yeah..the mixture screw doesn't seem to change anything in either direction. So perhaps I'll continue searching for a leak first before doing anything else. Thanks. I'll keep you posted.

 

Today I used some starter fluid to try and locate any vacuum leaks. Sprayed the stuff everywhere but I couldn't detect any difference in idle. Frustrated, I started disconnecting and reconnecting hoses and connectors to the solenoids. I found that after the car is warmed up and I disconnect the green Vacuum Control Solenoid Valve electrical connector, the car idles like a champ! I adjusted the idle down to 900 and it ran smooth for about 20 minutes until I shut it down. After an hour (engine was cool by now) I tried to restart the car but it wouldn't start until I reconnected the electrical connector to the solenoid again. I've just read the FSM on how to test the valve so tomorrow I'll give that a whirl to see if it's failing. Just thought I'd provide an update to this.

 

hmm interesting. we used to sell those occasionally, but i've never had a bad one myself, so i'm not sure what the symptoms are.

you might try cleaning it?

 

Yesterday I tested the green vacuum control solenoid valve with direct 12v as per FSM. I can hear it clicking and confirmed air flow moves correctly with/without power applied. So that seems okay. But I noticed that when the engine is first started and in it's warmup cycle, the power to the solenoid is 12v...but after the warmup cycle it drops to 8v? That doesn't sound right...

So to summarize...

With green connector hooked up:
- car idles okay (about 1500rpm) during warmup cycle (12V)
- car idles like crap after warmup cycle (8V)

With green connector disconnected:
- car won't start (cold start)
- car idles great after warmup cycle (8V)

I've confirmed correct vacuum tube hookups and have all new tubing. I've also confirmed proper ground for the solenoid wire.

I was actually able to drive it down the driveway and back...so I'm so close to getting her back on the road.

Any more thoughts on this?

 

well the ECU provides the ground, so voltage will drop when the valve is on